1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to a portable toilet, particularly to a portable toilet which can be easily mounted, folded, used, and dismounted by a handicapped person.
2. Description of Related Art
Note that the following discussion refers to a number of publications by author(s) and year of publication, and that discussion of such publications herein is given for more complete background and is not to be construed as an admission that such publications are prior art for patentability determination purposes.
Prior art devices that are directed to assisting a bedridden patient in performing a restroom function do not provide a patient the ability to assume a fully seated position and thus are not only uncomfortable and make performance of restroom functions more difficult, but because prior art devices force a patient to perform restroom functions in an awkward and unnatural position, the prior art devices also remove the dignity of those patients who are forced to use them. U.S. Pat. No. 2,204,343 to Dawson is directed to a bedpan device wherein the bedridden patient must lift or have assistants raise his or her buttocks so that the seat can be disposed beneath the patient's buttocks. The seat is then raised via a crank device until a sufficient height is achieved whereupon a bedpan is inserted below the patient's buttocks. Patients subjected to the Dawson device are thus forced to perform a restroom function while slightly elevated above the patient's bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,680,854 to Phillips describes a device which holds a bed pan. The Phillips device cannot be raised above a bed while a patient is disposed thereon, nor can it be horizontally moved away from a bed. A patient is thus forced to perform restroom functions into the bedpan, which is not equipped with a toilet seat, while the user remains in bed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,666,131 to Thompson describes a bedpan carrier which presses a bedpan into the patient's bed. The patient then attempts to perform a restroom function while the bedpan is pressed into the user's bed. Like the Thompson bedpan carrier, the sanitary bedpan of U.S. Pat. No. 1,869,036 to Zink is also to be used by a patient while the patient remains in bed.
There is thus a present need for a method and apparatus which provide a patient the ability to perform a restroom function while sitting in a more conventional position and which further provides the patient the dignity of not being required to excrete waste while lying in his or her bed.